Recently, I have been reading in 1 Corinthians again and of course, 1 Corinnthians 13 gets me every time. This was the verse that jumped off the page this morning:
So, no matter what I say, what I believe, what I do, I'm bankrupt without love!
1 Corinthians 13:3
Bankrupt. That's intense. Bankrupt means "unable to pay debts" and some synonyms are "broke", "cleaned out" and "ruined".
Think about that. I am ruined without love. I am broke without love. In essence, my life means absolutely nothing if I don't have love and allow that love to overwhelm all I think, say and do! WOW! I am definitely still chewing on this and its implications but I wanted to share.
The other portion of scripture that stood out in 1 Corinthians was this:
Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly! And the best of the three is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13
Love extravagantly! When I hear this phrase it makes me think "over the top" type love and I start to think that's a little much. But then God reminds me of how He loved extravagantly in sending Jesus, the perfect Savior and I am both awed and humbled. One of the many definitions for extravagant is "beyond what is reasonable". I like that and at the same time recognize that is why my first thought is "that's a little much"! Of course it is! It's beyond reasonable!
I can at least attempt to love like this! I probably won't get it right but I'd rather be accussed of attempting to love extravagantly then being bankrupt from a lack of love. I love bcause He first loved me!
Lord, help me to love extravagantly and every day to look more and more like You in my love!
Beautiful reflection. :-)
ReplyDeleteWow!! Thanks for posting! I struggle with showing love toward people who are friends or family. I can be nice to people but I get annoyed very easily! Something I am praying about constantly and checking myself on. But your last part that says "I'd rather be accused of the attempt then be broke" (not verbatim) really spoke to me! Sometimes we can get caught up in our family and friends we forget our love goes beyond that and can be a factor in someones acceptance of Jesus. Cause let's face it we are the face of Christ. Kinda like when you meet a big exec for a company, they become the "face" of the company. When we call our selves Christians we become the "face" that people see...Another good reason to love like Christ huh! ;-) great job! Praying for ya!
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